Ideal Box for 2 AA Havoc 12's in 05 Ford Taurus

[Jman91CT 0]

I drive a 2005 Ford Taurus, currently with 2 Kicker Comp 12s, which were my first install. I've been looking to upgrade to (significantly) more powerful drivers for a while now and I've recently taken on the job of research. I talked to a local Audiophile Loudspeaker company and he recommended TC Sounds LMS-R 12s. After reading reviews, I've noticed that their performance, while good, can be hit or miss. I did some more research and stumbled upon the AA Havoc 12s. These interested me more because of the (almost) 100% positive reviews and thumbs ups for SPL AND SQ.

I'm looking to run these off of a Kicker ZX2500.1, giving them the 1250 RMS they're rated for (not overpowering them like I would the TCs) and I'm just stuck with a jumble of thoughts about box designs.

I've read that these subs perform well in both ported and sealed enclosures, so I don't really have one that I'm favoring more. My gut says ported for output and volume, but I know these apparently sound great in a sealed enclosure.

I listen to everything from metal to dubstep to country to hip-hop, so I'd ideally like it to play everything well overall.

I was wondering if some of you guys that've owned these or heard these in various boxes could chime in and hopefully shed some light on the topic, or at least drop your 2 cents in.

Ported vs. Sealed? Volume? Port tuning? all that.

I would greatly appreciate any input anyone can offer. Thanks for your time guys. Look forward to hearing back from you.

[Jman91CT 0]

I posted this to the Ascendant Audio page as well, but I figured I might have a better chance of this seeing some traffic if I posted it here (sorry about the double post):

I drive a 2005 Ford Taurus, currently with 2 Kicker Comp 12s, which were my first install. I've been looking to upgrade to (significantly) more powerful drivers for a while now and I've recently taken on the job of research. I talked to a local Audiophile Loudspeaker company and he recommended TC Sounds LMS-R 12s. After reading reviews, I've noticed that their performance, while good, can be hit or miss. I did some more research and stumbled upon the AA Havoc 12s. These interested me more because of the (almost) 100% positive reviews and thumbs ups for SPL AND SQ.

I'm looking to run these off of a Kicker ZX2500.1, giving them the 1250 RMS they're rated for (not overpowering them like I would the TCs) and I'm just stuck with a jumble of thoughts about box designs.

I've read that these subs perform well in both ported and sealed enclosures, so I don't really have one that I'm favoring more. My gut says ported for output and volume, but I know these apparently sound great in a sealed enclosure.

I listen to everything from metal to dubstep to country to hip-hop, so I'd ideally like it to play everything well overall.

I was wondering if some of you guys that've owned these or heard these in various boxes could chime in and hopefully shed some light on the topic, or at least drop your 2 cents in.

Ported vs. Sealed? Volume? Port tuning? all that.

I would greatly appreciate any input anyone can offer. Thanks for your time guys. Look forward to hearing back from you.

[Julian 641]

I would have also suggested TC... But they're all Chinese made now...

Anyways, what tuning were you loOking for in particular? I'd say the largest box you can fit with lots of port..

I'd suggest around 32-35hz tuning, but it's all personal Preference.

[Jman91CT 0]

I would have also suggested TC... But they're all Chinese made now...

Anyways, what tuning were you loOking for in particular? I'd say the largest box you can fit with lots of port..

I'd suggest around 32-35hz tuning, but it's all personal Preference.

That was my other hang-up about the TC's as well

But I was looking at a tuning of (if i went with a ported enclosure) of 33 Hz. I've never built an enclosure before so the thought of building an enclosure for these as my first (considering I'm currently running 150 RMS subs............on 250 RMS..........which is purely weak compared to what I'm upgrading to) makes me very nervous; especially since I have no clue about box building whatsoever. I know these are more of an SQ sub than an SPL sub, and I do listen to a wide range of music, so I'm apprehensive about porting these (since I know they'll be SO much louder than what I have now I've contemplating going sealed since it'll play all genres and hit all frequencies, even lower lows and its a simpler build). I don't want them to be sloppy on my drums, and I like the thought of lower lows, although I know I sacrifice a lot of volume (not spatial, but sound) but going sealed.

[Julian 641]

Build a ported box well, it will be able to play all kinds of music! Honestly you're better off porting. If you really Want to get fancy you could make a removable port plug to seal if you'd like.

Anyways, it's all in the install and planning man!

Building a box.. Is well building a box.. Not hard just gotta have the tools and patience!

[Jman91CT 0]

Build a ported box well, it will be able to play all kinds of music! Honestly you're better off porting. If you really Want to get fancy you could make a removable port plug to seal if you'd like.

Anyways, it's all in the install and planning man!

Building a box.. Is well building a box.. Not hard just gotta have the tools and patience!

I was looking at (instead of having the 2 subs face the rear of the car, and the port dump out on that same face right next to them), having the subs mounted toward the bottom of that face, with a horizontal (instead of vertical) port that ran the width of the box, still facing the trunk though. Would that be good? I was thinking around 4-4.5 ft^3 after displacement, with a tuning of 33 Hz.

Do you think this would work? 1) the horizontal port? or do i face serious (extra) structural speedbumps? 2) these box specs?

[RAM_Designs 25]

4-4.5ft^3 at 33hz is fine. As far as the port goes, don't do one spanning the width of the box above the subs. With the proper port area it'll be too skinny. A vertical port will be much easier to properly execute.

[Jman91CT 0]

4-4.5ft^3 at 33hz is fine. As far as the port goes, don't do one spanning the width of the box above the subs. With the proper port area it'll be too skinny. A vertical port will be much easier to properly execute.

Makes sense, and that was going to be another question of mine. But, now the question is, the port will face the trunk lid, toward the rear license plate; BUT, should I mount the subs facing the same way? or should I mount them facing up? What would be the difference in sound between the different orientations of the subs?

[Deto1992 5]

It depends on whether you want to sacrifice volume in order to retain quality or not. If you are just looking for some opinions, I like running sealed. You save space and retain some sound quality which I prefer over pure volume. Despite being sealed, the Havocs will still have the ability to get loud so, in my opinion, seall themm upp and enjoy.

[Mtopper 23]

why did you post this twice?

[Jman91CT 0]

why did you post this twice?

I should've edited this post, my apologies. I wrote it at the top of the other posting. I posted here initially because I was asking about the Ascendant Audio Havocs, but then after I gave it more thought, I realized I should've just posted where I posted the second time in the first place. In hindsight, I should've taken this post down, and for not doing so, I apologize. I was trying to post in the best spot possible get the most views and hopefully the most replies/help.

[Jman91CT 0]

It depends on whether you want to sacrifice volume in order to retain quality or not. If you are just looking for some opinions, I like running sealed. You save space and retain some sound quality which I prefer over pure volume. Despite being sealed, the Havocs will still have the ability to get loud so, in my opinion, seall themm upp and enjoy.

I like the range that sealed could potentially gain me over ported. I like the thought of sound quality out of such loud subs since I know they will be very boomy, vs accurate. I'm afraid of the ported volume needed being able to fit INTO my trunk. I have the space inside the trunk for it, but I'm not sure I have an opening large enough to fit that box into the trunk by. Plus, I'm new to box building so I don't know how substantial of a box I'd be able to build for these subs (which makes me nervous since they're fairly heavy and powerful), so sealed is appealing for that reason.

Would they still be fairly loud in a sealed enclosure or would I really need a ported one to see significant volume?

[BKOLFO4 29]

Maybe you should post up the dimensions of the largest box/volume you are willing to give up in your trunk and we can suggest box designs from there. If you have the space to build a properly designed potted box, I would go ported.

I have done the ported vs. sealed many times. Ported always wins for me. Even in comparisons doing one sub ported vs. two of the same sub sealed.

Brian

[Jman91CT 0]

Maybe you should post up the dimensions of the largest box/volume you are willing to give up in your trunk and we can suggest box designs from there. If you have the space to build a properly designed potted box, I would go ported.

I have done the ported vs. sealed many times. Ported always wins for me. Even in comparisons doing one sub ported vs. two of the same sub sealed.

Brian

Honestly, I'm willing to build it as big as it needs to be, but the problem I run into is fitting it INTO the trunk itself. I've been looking at using 2 aeroports to make this easier. I want the subs facing towards the rear of the car, and the ports on the opposite side facing into the cabin set between the magnets of the subs. I'm looking at about 4.5 cubic feet, tuned to 32-33 Hz. I can do a maximum of about 15 inches tall in case it needs to go in through the back seats (it needs to clear the back seat support bar to push through into the trunk) and it can do about a maximum of 3 ft. wide. The depth of the box is where I'm looking to make up the rest of the volume.

[steveo50 3]

Id prob just go with sealed box try that then if you don't like it get a ported box. You kinda sound like me you want it loud but you like the quality. Its a hard decision.

[Jman91CT 0]

Id prob just go with sealed box try that then if you don't like it get a ported box. You kinda sound like me you want it loud but you like the quality. Its a hard decision.

Thats the EXACT problem I'm having! I want it to be loud, but still be able to suit the taste of the music I listen to. Its such a hard decision.